Waste Recycling
As well as the use of waste rock to rehabilitate a previously mined area, the excess wastage has been put to good use by EMM Resources with several dynamic solutions.
Recycling Waste as Construction Materials
The excess materials surplus to all work is now being put to good use as a construction material. The majority of this is being used as road base on upgrading roads throughout remote regions of the Pilbara. Not only is this putting waste material to good use but now thousands of people in remote areas have more access to transport routes. As well as this, some of the leftover waste has been used in the construction of building around the place and storage facilities, as well as helping construct cyclone shelters in remote regions.
Recycling Waste as an Artificial Reef
Working closely with the Australian Institute of Marine Science and the WA Government excess waste rock will be used to create an artificial reef off the coast of the Pilbara. Coral numbers are dwindling with the rise in the temperature of sea levels and it is hoped that this new project from EMM Resources will encourage the growth of coral in an otherwise barren area of sea floor. Additionally, this may boost tourism in the area as further down the track could provide a dive spot as tropical fish numbers in the area grow.
Monitoring the Situation
As EMM Resources likes to keep all its pollutant information transparent, all wastage will be recorded and figures provided to the Nation Pollutant Inventory (or NPI www.npi.gov.au) for regular public display. It is hoped that we by measuring total inputs towards total waste that we can come up with absolutely minimal wasteage from our process as we strive to become a completely sustainable company.
RESOURCES USED IN THIS SECTION:
Bell, S., & Morse, S. (2012). Measuring sustainability: learning from doing. Routledge
Brewer, D. T., Morello, E. B., Griffiths, S., Fry, G., Heales, D., Apte, S. C., ... & Richardson, A. J. (2012). Impacts of gold mine waste disposal on a tropical pelagic ecosystem. Marine pollution bulletin.
Clark, S., & Edwards, A. J. (1994). Use of artificial reef structures to rehabilitate reef flats degraded by coral mining in the Maldives.
Bulletin of Marine science, 55(2-3), 2-3.
Fan, X., et al (2013). Factors Research on the Influence of Leaching Rate of Nickel and Cobalt from Waste Superalloys with Sulfuric Acid.
Lihir. (n.d.). Newcrest. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from www.newcrest.com.au/media/our_business/Newcrest_FS_Lihir_FINAL_27_July_2012_low_res_(2).pdf
Mudd, G. M. (2007) Sustainability and Mine Waste Management–A Snapshot of Mining Waste Issues.
Mining Waste. (n.d.). Alcoa. Retrieved May 25, 2013, from www.alcoa.com/australia/en/info_page/mining_waste_man.asp
Reporting emissions and transfers - National Pollutant Inventory. (n.d.).National Pollutant Inventory home page. Retrieved May 25, 2013, from http://www.npi.gov.au/reporting/
UG-Mat Mineral Processing Wastes | Recycled Materials Resource Center. (n.d.). Recycled Materials Resource Center | Focusing on Research & Outreach. Retrieved May 25, 2013, from http://rmrc.wisc.edu/mineral-processing-wastes/